I formed the strongest swordsman group

Half a month after Yamata no Orochi met with Takasugi Shinsaku and Katsura Kogoro——

Choshu, Hagi Castle, a room in an unknown inn——

Since she turned sixty, her energy has declined significantly.

Tamamonomae was troubled by this.

After working for another two hours, she felt tired as expected, her eyelids began to fight, and her head gradually swelled.

She leaned on her elbow as usual and took a nap.

Half asleep and half awake, she suddenly recalled old memories.

Various scenes appeared, disappeared, split, and merged in front of her.

In a short while, one of the scenes was frozen, dyed with color, condensed with lines, deepened with outlines, and soon became a clear scene.

Although she couldn't speak in her dream, Tamamonomae couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing the specific picture of the scene.

Heavy rain, deep mountains, the gathering of the Law and Punishment Group, the atmosphere of despair... Yes, it was the day she first met Yamata no Orochi.

Although this happened 20 years ago, she still remembers everything she experienced that day.

The heavy rain poured down, pouring down mercilessly on everyone.

A hundred people gathered in the desolate mountains to discuss future plans.

The meeting had just begun when someone lost control of his emotions and shouted:

"Bullshit 'legal punishment'! Bullshit uprising! We are just sending ourselves to die!"

As soon as this was said, there were many responses.

"That's right! This is sending ourselves to die! Not an uprising! Not to overthrow the Qing Dynasty!"

"We are here to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, not to die!"

"I've had enough! Whoever wants to stay can stay, anyway, I'm not going to accompany you anymore!"

"Me too! I'm quitting too!"

"Go, go, go! I'd rather work alone than stay and die!"

With the constant noise, more and more people got up and left.

At first, there were two or three people, then more than ten people, and then dozens of people...

"Wait! Don't leave!"

"Although this defeat is tragic, we still have a chance to make a comeback!"

"Hey! What about the promise of 'never giving up until the shogunate falls'?!"

"Cowards! You bunch of cowards!"

Tamamonomae, who was just over 40 years old and still had charm, sat in the crowd with a wooden expression, neither getting up to leave nor persuading those who left.

——Things have come to this point, there is nothing to be done.

She thought pessimistically.

If she didn't hate the shogunate to the bone and had nowhere to go, she might have gotten up and left.

Just half a month ago, the Hoju Group - which had not yet been renamed the "Hokju Party" - launched a new uprising.

The location of the uprising was chosen to be Kobe.

Kobe is located in the southwest of the capital, far away from the core territory of the shogunate (Kanto), and the ruling power of the Tokugawa family is relatively weak.

Raise the banner of "overthrowing the shogunate", capture Kobe, and then use it as a base to recruit soldiers and expand their strength, destroy the shogunate in one fell swoop, and clarify the world - this is the plan of the Law and Punishment Group.

Gathering personnel, stockpiling weapons, training tactics, everything is done step by step, steadily, and without any problems.

However... although they have made full preparations, after the official uprising, everything they face and encounter is completely different from what they imagined in advance...

Swords and knives have neither a terrifying attack range nor a terrifying armor-breaking ability. They are just decorations on the battlefield and are far less useful than spears.

It can be used to chop civilians without armor, which is very convenient.

In the process of attacking Kobe, the performance of the Law and Punishment Group's warriors can be said to be heroic.

But facing the well-equipped samurai group, it is still difficult to resist.

The samurai wielded their knives mercilessly, killing the Law and Punishment Group.

In just half a day, the long-planned uprising of the Ho-Zhu Group ended in a disastrous defeat.

The precious fighting power that had been accumulated with great difficulty was lost.

In the eyes of the shogunate, this was just an ordinary rebellion.

The rebellion was quelled without much effort, and it was not even worth writing about it in history books.

But for the Ho-Zhu Group, this was undoubtedly a disaster.

So, there are the scenes of "shouting loudly" and "standing up and leaving" today.

It is too harsh to call those who decided to leave the Ho-Zhu Group "cowards" - anyway, Tamamonomae can understand them very well.

Trying their best but failing miserably... Such a tragic reality would make anyone feel frustrated and collapsed.

Even Tamamonomae, a veteran of the Ho-Zhu Group, couldn't help but want to quit at this time.

Although the Ho-Zhu Group is a long-standing association, it has always been on the verge of collapse under the repeated attacks of the shogunate and the feudal domains.

Before the "Black Ship Incident" seriously weakened the prestige of the shogunate, the Edo shogunate, which controlled a quarter of Japan, was a terrifying behemoth.

There was neither a wise leader who could plan and strategize, nor an orderly organizational structure. There was no one and no money. It was nonsense to want to overthrow the Edo shogunate with just passion.

How did I get to where I am today?

Tamamonomae asked herself this out of the blue.

This is really a distant story...

Once upon a time, she was just an ordinary farm girl.

A majestic father, a kind mother, a thatched house, and a few acres of thin land.

Although not superior, it was not bad either, at least there was no risk of starvation.

In such an environment where "the rich have fields stretching across the country, while the poor have no place to stand", it is extremely lucky to have a field to plant.

No disasters, no accidents, no surprises... She spent the first 8 years of her life in such a dull manner - until the arrival of the "assisting the village" order.

Speaking of "assisting the village", this is really a system that makes thousands of people grit their teeth.

Simply put, this is a kind of labor service in the Edo period.

When the post station is short of manpower, the neighboring villages must provide manpower and horses.

These people who were forced to help did not get any wages, and they worked for nothing.

In the process of assisting in the transportation of goods, whether the horse you provided was killed or injured, or you yourself were killed or injured, it would be considered your bad luck, and the shogunate would never give any compensation.

What is even more frustrating is that "assisting the village" is mandatory and no excuses are allowed.

Once you receive the order, no matter whether it is busy or slack in farming, you must put down all the affairs at hand and rush to the post station to report.

One day when Tamamonomae was 8 years old, the nearby Hakone post station forced her father to transport goods.

Hakone is a famous hot spring town, and the "Hakone Seven Hot Springs" are famous all over the world.

What Tamamonomae's father was going to transport... was the hot spring water of Hakone.

In the early Kanbun period (1661-1673) during the reign of the fourth shogun Tokugawa Ietsugu, "Okaku-yu" appeared.

The so-called "Okaku-yu" is the hot spring water used by the shogun's family.

Hot springs that can both cheer up and heal injuries have always been enthusiastically sought after by Japanese nobles.

However, the shogun's family, who are of noble status, could not leave Edo without permission just to soak in a hot spring.

Therefore, in order for the shogun's family to enjoy the hot springs at any time, "Okaku-yu" came into being.

How to transport the hot springs to Edo for the shogun to enjoy?

It's very simple, just transport them in wooden barrels one by one!

Under the instructions of the officials and officials of the shogunate, there is a strict process for the use of Okaku-yu.

First, the shopkeeper, wearing a formal suit with a family crest and a hakama and a mask, took water from the big soup with a long-handled ladle and poured it into a brand new cypress bucket, and then sealed the bucket.

Then, the soup bucket was transported to Edo by the helper system, working day and night in a relay.

First, it was transported to Edo Bridge, and then other workers sent it to the warehouse in Edo Castle for storage.

Hot springs such as Atami, Hakone, and Kusatsu would offer hot spring water to the Shogun's family.

In this way, in order to let the Shogun's family soak in the freshest hot springs, Tamamonomae's father was forcibly conscripted to the post station.

That would be fine.

But as luck would have it, the days when he was conscripted to transport the hot springs were the busy farming season.

As we all know, there are only a few days in a year that are suitable for farming.

If you miss this period, you will have no harvest this year.

Although Tamamonomae's father begged and pleaded for more time, he was still ruthlessly rejected.

This trip lasted two months.

When he returned home, there was no doubt that the busy farming season had passed, and it would be useless to try to make up for the loss.

To make matters worse, he accidentally sprained his waist while carrying a heavy bucket of soup.

When he returned home with all his strength, his injury was so serious that he had difficulty even walking.

He had delayed his farm work and injured his body. He had made such a huge sacrifice, but the shogunate refused to pay a penny in compensation and let him fend for himself.

Humiliation, grief, hatred... a torrent of painful emotions engulfed Tamamonomae's father.

He vomited blood and fell to the ground in a rage, and died not long after.

Although it was already so miserable, the tragedy of their family was not over yet.

In the feudal era, farmers had no means to resist disasters, and they had to work and eat.

Even in years with excellent harvests, they could only barely fill their stomachs.

Even in good years, this was the case, let alone the failure to harvest due to missing the farming season?

The shogunate will not exempt you from taxes just because you lack money and food or your family members have died.

The pressure of filling your stomach, the pressure of paying taxes... even if you sell all the valuable things in the house, it is still a drop in the bucket.

Tamamonomae's mother was already weak and could not withstand such a torment at all.

Her husband died, she was unable to pay taxes, she was hungry... Under multiple blows, she also left Tamamonomae.

Those happy days, those days with both parents and no worries, disappeared like a dream.

The family was broken up... just because of a bucket of hot spring in the shogun's house.

The only way for the girl, who was only 8 years old, to survive was to wander and beg.

Fortunately, not long after she started wandering, she was taken in by the owner of a prostitute house in Yoshiwara.

After several years of training, she became a prostitute in Yoshiwara.

With her beautiful face and clever speech, she was like a fish in water in Yoshiwara.

Although she could not become an oiran, she was not short of patrons and was one of the most popular prostitutes in the store.

She never forgot the tragedies she had experienced, and she dared not forget them.

Her hatred for the shogunate did not fade with time, but became stronger. She witnessed more darkness in Yoshiwara, which was both glamorous and filthy.

One day, by chance, she learned about the existence of the Hozugumi.

After learning that the Hozugumi was a secret society founded during the Kansei period (1789-1800) with the mission of overthrowing the shogunate, she immediately became very interested in it.

With a strong hatred for the shogunate, she joined the Hozugumi without hesitation.

Taking advantage of her status, she began to deliberately approach the dignitaries of the shogunate and collect intelligence for the Law and Punishment Group.

Except for very few exceptions, the retirement age of courtesans is 28 years old.

At this age, they either raise enough money to redeem themselves and regain their freedom, or retreat to the second line and engage in logistics work, specifically serving the young courtesans in the store.

As one of the top girls in the store, she had already earned enough money to redeem herself.

However, although she redeemed herself, she did not leave Yoshiwara. Instead, she changed her job to a dispatcher who was responsible for supervising and training courtesans, and continued to stay in Yoshiwara and continue to collect intelligence for the Law and Punishment Group.

In a blink of an eye, more than 20 years have passed.

I have changed from a beautiful woman to an old and yellow-faced person.

The Law and Punishment Group is still the Law and Punishment Group.

The shogunate is still the shogunate.

For so many years, all their efforts to overthrow the shogunate have ended in failure.

The old men died and quit one after another... Unknowingly, Tamamonomae became the oldest person in the organization.

"Overthrow the shogunate"... It seems that it will always be an unfulfilled dream.

Tamamonomae couldn't help thinking:

- The history of the Law and Punishment Group probably ends today...

Gradually, she slowly came to her senses.

Looking up, the surroundings were empty.

Everyone had left.

Those who claimed "I'm sorry, I won't accompany you" ran away.

Those who advised people not to leave and called them "cowards" probably saw that most people had left and had no confidence to persist, so they also ran away.

The association that lasted for nearly half a century actually ushered in such a sad ending...

- Well... Let it be...

Failure after failure has completely exhausted Tamamonomae's energy.

At this moment, she could not feel any sadness or joy.

She stood up with a sallow expression and stiff movements, like a clay sculpture or a wooden sculpture.

Where to go next?

Where else can I go?

How will I live after this?

Just as she was silently thinking about these heavy questions——

"Good! This place is good! Let's use this place as our base for a comeback!"

The sudden young voice startled her.

She mechanically turned her head and looked in the direction of the voice——she saw a young man in his 20s standing tall, with his hands on his waist, looking at the empty space under his feet with confidence.

Not ugly or handsome, not fat or thin, not tall or short... This person exudes an "ordinary" atmosphere from inside to outside.

Tamamonomae recognized this young man. He had just joined the Law and Punishment Group not long ago. Due to his lack of experience, she could not remember his name.

"...Why don't you leave?"

Driven by curiosity, Tamamonomae could not help but ask.

The young man looked at her and raised his eyebrows:

"Huh? Granny, are you still here? I thought you all left."

Because of her seniority, Tamamonomae is often respected as "Granny" in the organization.

At this time, Tamamonomae realized that there was a child next to the young man... or rather, a child holding a baby.

The child was about 3 or 4 years old, standing expressionlessly beside the young man, with an unusually mature demeanor, not at all like a child of his age.

It is worth mentioning that he was holding a baby in his arms - judging from her appearance, it should be a baby girl.

The baby was covered with a raincoat, and it was unknown whether she was careless or what, but she was sleeping soundly in the wind and rain, not affected by the external environment at all.

The young man noticed Tamamonomae's gaze and smiled:

"These two children were adopted not long ago."

"The elder brother is a congenitally deaf and dumb person, and the younger sister is still a swaddled baby."

"I felt sorry for them, so I adopted them."

After that, he raised his big hand affectionately and rubbed the boy's little head.

Tamamonomae didn't care about the brother and sister for the time being.

She was only concerned about one thing now: what was wrong with this person? Why was he still here?

"Why don't you leave?"

Tamamonomae repeated the question and added:

"Didn't you see that the team has been disbanded?"

Faced with Tamamonomae's questioning, the young man responded quite calmly.

He spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and smiled optimistically:

"Although the team has disbanded, we are not dead yet, right?"

"Since we are still alive, we still have a chance to regroup!"

"Granny, look, this place is beautiful, and most importantly, it is remote and not easy for the government to find it. It is indeed a good place to establish a base!"

"I have decided to rebuild the Law and Punishment Group here!"

"Since it is a reconstruction, let's change the name by the way."

"From now on, the 'Law and Punishment Group' will be renamed the 'Law and Punishment Party'!"

"This name is not only majestic, but also better reflects the nature of our association."

Tamamonomae stared at the young man blankly, with a stunned face.

After a while, she frowned slightly and said in an unhappy tone:

"What are you talking about?"

"Establishing a base and changing the name... Do you think you are the leader of the Law and Punishment Group?"

The young man smiled slightly and said calmly:

"Granny, as you can see."

He pointed to the empty ground under his feet.

"The team has disbanded, hasn't it?"

"The only members left in the Law and Punishment Group are you and me."

"Although you are an experienced old man, you are not suitable to be a leader."

"In this case, it is reasonable for me to become the new leader of the Law and Punishment Group!"

Tamamonomae blinked hard, unable to suppress her astonishment.

This man's various behaviors told Tamamonomae: he was not joking, he was serious!

"...Enough, stop struggling in vain."

Tamamonomae lowered his head, stared at his toes, and said in a deep voice:

"Even if the Law and Punishment Group is rebuilt, what can it do?"

"It has been twenty years since I joined the Law and Punishment Group."

"In the past twenty years, we have been failing."

"We have failed again and again... There is almost no sign of success."

"Young man, listen to my advice, leave, living well is better than anything else."

As soon as Tamamonomae finished speaking, the young man repeated the word she had just said loudly as if he was under pressure.

"'Live'?"

Instantly, the young man's expression changed suddenly.

The optimistic smile disappeared, and the facial lines became distorted and hideous.

"The reason I joined the Law and Punishment Group is because I can't live anymore!"

After saying this, under the influence of excitement, his chest rose and fell rapidly, and he breathed heavily with "huff", "huff".

Hearing the other party's roar, Tamamonomae seemed to feel something and trembled a few times.

About half a minute later, the young man let out a long sigh and his facial expression returned to normal.

"Grandma, when I decided to fight against the shogunate and realize my ideals, I had already made up my mind to die."

"I am not afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of defeat?"

After hearing this, Tamamonomae slowly raised her eyes and stared at the young man blankly.

She couldn't remember what happened afterwards.

She only remembered that from that day on, the "Law and Punishment Group" was officially renamed the "Law and Punishment Party".

Also from that day on, she began to follow and serve this young man and became the other party's first subordinate.

……

……

"Grandma... Grandma...! Grandma!"

Tamamonomae felt someone shaking her body.

The dream was broken and consciousness awakened.

She slowly opened her eyes... before she saw the person, she saw her belly first.

Yamata no Orochi stood beside her with a round belly and a smile.

"Mother-in-law, if you want to sleep, it's best to go to bed. You are very likely to get back problems like this. You are old, so you must take good care of your body."

He raised his eyebrows and stared at the other person's face with curiosity.

"Hmm? Mother-in-law, you seem very happy. What good dream did you have?"

Tamamonomae smiled:

"Nothing, I just dreamed about some of our past."

"Oh? Can you tell me in detail?"

"No, it's embarrassing to talk about it."

At this point, Tamamonomae seemed to remember something and cast a look of deep emotion at Yamata no Orochi.

"Another twenty years have passed... Orochi, we must succeed this time."

Even though the other party was saying something that didn't make sense, Yamata no Orochi quickly understood what he meant and said with a frank smile:

"Well, we will definitely succeed! This time, we must destroy the Edo Shogunate!"

A new volume is open! Please give me a monthly ticket! Please give me a recommendation ticket! (Baotou crying.jpg)

I wanted to take a day off in the name of opening a new volume, but Baobaozi successfully overcame his inertia with amazing perseverance! Baobaozi is so awesome! (Baohai.jpg)

PS: Although this book occasionally mentions the darkness of the Edo period, the content involved is just the tip of the iceberg.

A certain document once wrote: For a period of time, the total population of the Edo period stagnated, neither falling nor rising. Because life was too hard, people often drowned their newborn babies.